Where to, South Africa?

Editorial from issue number 14 of the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front's journal, Zabalaza: A Journal of Southern African Revolutionary Anarchism.

Editorial: Where to, South Africa?

Anarchist-Communist Reflections

by Tina Sizovuka

In 2013, Zabalaza/ ZACF took a decision to redirect our
energies into certain aspects of our work that we felt were
more urgent and immediately important at the time, given the
challenges and conditions we were facing. The bad news is
that this decision took its toll on our publishing work, which
partly explains the long gap (over two years) between issues
of our journal. The good news is that this reorientation has
paid off elsewhere: hiccups notwithstanding, over the past two
years our militants have participated in various new initiatives
in and around Johannesburg, where we have witnessed a
renewed and growing interest in anarchism. The inclusion of several new names in this issue is a much-welcomed reflection of these changes.

Over the past two years, there have been many important
developments that deserve special consideration. We have
tried to include our own, anarchist, appraisals of these where
possible, although in some respects we have fallen unavoidably
short. It is precisely because South Africa’s burning social
and national issues remain unresolved (in fact they cannot
be resolved within the existing capitalist and political party
systems established in 1910 and 1994), that the country
continues to undergo social turbulence, seen in strikes, union
splits, struggles over symbols, and sadly, anti-immigrant
attacks.

The expulsion in November 2014 of the metalworkers union
(NUMSA) from the federation (COSATU), and the consequent
formation of a new NUMSA-driven “United Front” (UF) is an
interesting turn of events in South Africa. On the one hand
this is a major setback for trade union unity, but on the other,
NUMSA’s pledge to work for the type of “social movement
unionism” that once distinguished it, could also mean a victory
for working class unity broadly speaking. In this, NUMSA has
cut ties with the ruling ANC, and – in its defence of former
general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi – has been at the forefront
of a struggle against that powerful ANC-SACP group within
the federation’s leadership, which, in NUMSA’s words, is
attempting to turn COSATU into a “labour desk” of the ruling
party. However, it is yet to be seen whether the UF will signal
a new phase in our politics; with the launch being postponed
several times, with influential groups pushing for it to stand
independent candidates in next year’s local elections, and
with a programme that at times seems more concerned about
uniting the left under a NUMSA programme than about unity
of the working class in struggle, the future is uncertain. How
anarchists should relate to this is the subject of an entry in the
“Open Correspondence Column” by Jakes Factoria and Tina
Sizovuka, which argues for participation, where possible, in
the unions and the UF, to build revolutionary counter-power
and promote revolutionary ideas.

It is significant that it is NUMSA driving these new
developments; its predecessor, MAWU, in the 1980s, was
one of the most vehement voices against alliances to political
parties – warning of the dangers of embroiling unions in party-political
factional battles. However, we should also not forget
that it was Vavi that led the campaign to back one faction of
the ANC (around Zuma) over the other (around Mbeki) in
the 2007 elections, the aftermath of which was the political
assassination of the then COSATU president Willie Madisha,
who opposed it. This decision was a watershed moment for
COSATU’s independence: as predicted by MAWU, COSATU
would soon become infected by the ANC’s factional battles
– battles of which Vavi himself was later made victim. It was
also a watershed moment for COSATU’s culture of consensus
building and debate, which was increasingly replaced by the
culture of “disciplining” and malicious elimination of political
opponents. Vavi’s recent birthday present to Mbeki – an
apology for 2007 – is a welcome admission of guilt, although
the apology would best be directed at COSATU’s millions of
members who suffered the real consequences of the union
leadership’s embrace of political parties.

Pitso Mompe’s article takes lessons from syndicalism,
focussing on disunity within the trade unions – which not
only occurs horizontally (along the lines of nationality, race,
ethnicity, language and so on) but also vertically, between
workers and the trade union bureaucracy – arguing for a
return to the type of syndicalist-leaning bottom-up, worker
controlled trade unionism of the 1970s and 1980s. This is
precisely what is missing in many COSATU unions, wracked
by internal turmoil, with bureaucracies enmeshed into the
patronage networks of the nationalist ANC state. Thabang
Sefalafala and Lucien van der Walt revisit the Spanish CNT in
search of lessons for building a mass anarchist organisation
and union revitalisation. On this important example, we also
include here a review of Jose Peirat’s account of the Spanish
revolution, The CNT in the Spanish Revolution, a three volume
study by a militant – written in exile – of the inspiring events
of 1936-9.

The formation of the UF by NUMSA is an important rupture with
the status quo, although its future is uncertain. Activists and
leftists from a wide range of political orientations have pinned
their hopes on it, a beacon of light in a sea of darkness, and
much ink has already flowed in attempting to understand its
significance. Unfortunately a serious ZACF anarchist analysis
of the UF is still outstanding, but one is surely necessary. The
lessons and insights of anarchism would add a valuable voice
of apprehension that could stand up against those (many of
whom are influential leadership figures) pushing the fledgling
structure in the direction of a workers’ party.[1] Nonetheless the
rise of the UF also poses several questions to us as anarchists
about how we relate to mass movements, addressed in the
“Open Correspondence Column”. A related article by Bongani
Maponyane takes a theoretical look at the role and importance
of having an organised active anarchist minority within mass
movements, focusing on the role of the specific anarchist
political organisation.

Alongside the UF, since our last issue we have seen the rise
of a new, so-called “revolutionary” political party – the
“Economic Freedom Fighters” (EFF). The EFF exploded
onto the political scene in mid-2013 as a splinter from the
ruling ANC by the faction surrounding Youth Leaguer Julius
Malema, grabbing far more media attention than its weight
warranted (it received only 6.35% of the votes in the 2014
national elections). Despite its flirtations with shady business
figures like Kenny Kunene (who has now also launched a new
party, the Patriotic Alliance), authoritarian structure (initially
around an unelected “Central Command”), factional infighting
for access to lucrative state positions, undisclosed funding
by powerful interests, and a long string of broken promises,
the EFF’s provocative – if sometimes ultra-nationalist –
rhetoric has provided a pole of attraction, especially for poor
youth, who are largely excluded from the system (youth
unemployment is roughly 36%, and youth account for 90% of
the unemployed who have never had a job).[2]

In the midst of all this activity, the families of the 41 Marikana
miners who were brutally gunned down in August 2012
while on strike, in the aftermath of major splits in the mining
unions, have been shunted into the background. The “Farlam
Commission” set up to investigate the incident (commissions
are the typical SA state response (delay tactic?) to popular
anger) has finally, after years of proceedings, come up with
nothing more than to institute another inquiry, this time into the
capability of the National Police Commissioner and Provincial
Commissioner to hold office after deliberately misleading the
Commission. No one has been named responsible for the actual
massacre, and no compensation has been forthcoming. Rather
than seek to address the problems, major parties like ANC and
EFF have instead sought votes from the miners’ communities,
seeking to ride people’s pain into lucrative state office with
promises.

With the “Nkandlagate” scandal fresh in memory – during
which President Zuma refused for months to make public
this inquiry into the misuse of billions of public funds for his
Nkandla homestead – we are left with little hope. However,
we would be wrong to single out the ANC (or the EFF) for
exploiting its access to state resources as a means to entrench
its power (by rewarding the loyal, building patronage networks
and so on); the National Party, just like the ANC, used the state
to reward voters, and built the state into an ethnic and racial
fiefdom, appointed their cronies and allies to all key positions,
and, more specifically, used and expanded state companies,
funds, legislation and pressure for a process of either Afrikaner
or black economic empowerment. This will be the topic of an
upcoming Zabalaza journal supplement, soon to be published
by the collective.

While the elites gorge themselves at our expense, and in
doing so, continue to fan national divisions, the working class
and poor, faced with desperate conditions, have turned on
themselves. Another wave of brutal xenophobic attacks broke
out in early 2015. Hundreds of foreign-owned shops were
looted, and (as some policemen joined in the looting) the army
was deployed to various areas of Johannesburg and KwaZulu
Natal, which had turned into battlegrounds. The latest wave
of anti-immigrant violence was triggered by the xenophobic
statements of the Zulu King, King Zwelithini (although he later
retracted his suggestion that foreigners “pack their bags”).
Public condemnations and meaningless romantic talk of
African unity aside, the South African state bears responsibility
for these attacks both directly and indirectly: by deliberately
turning a blind eye, by the fact that its policy for dealing with
the “problem” of “illegal” migration is one of clampdown and
internment, and because its imperialist incursions into the
rest of Africa cannot be separated from the contempt that
South Africans hold towards residents of dominated countries.

This is the focus of another group of articles in this issue.
Shawn Hattingh analyses South African political interference
in the DRC (including backing the Kabila regime), exposing
how troops stationed in the DRC (as part of “Operation
Mistral”) are being used to clear rebel groups so that SA big
business, state-owned enterprises, and ANC-linked interests
(including of the President’s nephew) can take advantage of
mineral and oil concessions in North Kivu. Philip Nyalungu also
focusses on the state’s role in the recent xenophobic attacks
(by deliberately weakening immigrant solidarity networks
through arrests, and silencing movements critical of the ANC);
at the same time, however, the article takes a tough look at
the pervasiveness of xenophobic attitudes amongst ordinary
people in South Africa, calling for open and honest discussion
as a starting point for dealing with such rampant xenophobia.

Lucien van der Walt argues against the thesis of a Western
“labour aristocracy”, showing that there is no basis for the
claims that Western imperialism – through wars, colonial
conquest and so on – benefits the Western working class.
South Africa is itself a small imperial power, and plays an
important role in popular anti-immigrant sentiment, state
military actions and regional politics. The argument against
“labour aristocracy” also applies: the South African working
class has no stake in its ruling class’s expansionism.

The issue of the legacy of imperialism – the older, “Western,”
colonial variety – has come to the fore again in South Africa, a
country deeply shaped by the British Empire. Students from
the University of Cape Town sparked a series of symbolic
actions across the country, when they attacked a statue of
Cecil John Rhodes, arch-symbol of British imperialism and the
former namesake of Zimbabwe (“Rhodesia”), by covering it in
human faeces.

Our colonial past deeply shapes the lives of working class
South Africans. In South Africa the colour of your skin still
strongly determines your life chances and social positions, and
thus this anger is justified. However, Leroy Maisiri, a student
at Rhodes University in South Africa, questions the overly
racialised slogans (e.g. “Rhodes so white”) that have come
out of the initiative, arguing that symbolic, cosmetic actions
like removing statues fail to take account of deeper structural
problems that link race and class, and cannot be a meaningful
solution to the continued legacy of racism and colonialism in
South Africa. Instead of erasing painful history, the article calls
for more symbolism and more iconography – that celebrates
the working class, and its heritage and history (which is also a
key focus of a Heritage Day speech, reproduced here, by Lucien
van der Walt). Nationalism, a politics of cross-class unity and
the affirmation of narrow identities, has failed throughout
the twentieth century to solve South Africa’s
problems: its resurgence in some of these
protests, and through the EFF, does not take us
forward, as Maisiri stresses here, and van der
Walt elsewhere. Real university transformation
means creating, not an “African university” or
a “world-class university,” but a “workers and
people’s scientific university” and free education.

Turning to the international front, the recent
uprisings by the predominantly black – but also
working class – community of Baltimore in the
United States, sparked by the murder of Freddie
Gray while in police custody, raise many similar
questions about the race-class connection in
the US. While the international press has drawn
historical comparisons (e.g. to the Civil Rights
Movement, slavery), too often these have failed
to go beyond simplistic references to “white
supremacy.” As in South Africa, class-based
exploitation, slavery and conquest are central to
the origins of racism, and capitalist and statist
social relations play a key role in entrenching
racial and national oppression today.

In terms of national liberation struggles, very
little has raised more international interest (not
only amongst anarchists) than the impressive
fight by the People’s Protection Units (YPG)
and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in the
region of Rojava in Western Kurdistan, against
the Islamic State. Linked to the Kurdish Workers
Party (PKK), the YPG/YPJ, like the PKK, have
increasingly and explicitly adopted ideas with
roots in the anarchist tradition, in place of their
older Marxism-Leninism: this includes efforts
at an anarchist-influenced programme of self-government
and direct democracy in Rojava in
Syria, which is linked to a struggle for both gender
equality and environmentalism. On the latter
theme, Bongani Maponyane’s article on climate
change takes issue with the false solutions
to climate change being promoted by the
bureaucrats; the fact that elite-driven processes
like the Kyoto Protocol, COP and others have
thus far failed to meaningfully address the crisis,
makes the type of class-driven environmentalism
being undertaken by the YPG/YPJ all the more
relevant. Shawn Hattingh’s article takes a bit of a
longer look at the Islamic State (IS) phenomenon,
analysing the role that the US ruling class has
played in the Middle East, and the reasons for its
refusal to support the only forces in the region
(the PKK and YPG) which have been persistently
and effectively pushing back its expansion. ISIS,
like radical Islamism and religious and national
fundamentalisms more generally, is a reactionary
movement that poses – as the YPG/ YPJ battles
against ISIS show – a direct, deadly threat to the
left and popular classes.

The question of national sovereignty has also
come up within Western Europe, after the victory
of the OXI in the Greek referendum – which many
Greeks and many on the left hoped would end
Greece’s long nightmare of imposed austerity. The
complete capitulation of Syriza (to an agreement
worse in many ways than the one rejected by the
referendum!) is not that surprising, but it has
been interpreted by many angry leftists either as
betrayal, or as evidence that Tspiras and Syriza
were never really “on the left” in the first place.
This totally avoids a serious analysis of the state
– placing responsibility on the genuineness
or loyalty of individual leaders. At best the
referendum could have led to Syriza exiting the
Eurozone, and implementing a friendlier version
of capitalism – but it was never going to end it,
nor bring about real social equality in Greece.
Again this has exposed the limits of strategies
focused on the state for genuine socialist change.
Although this is not featured here, an analysis of
the Greek events is on the cards for the next issue
(or, more realistically, our website).

Shifting our focus further south, our regular
Black Stars of Anarchism series features the life of
Domingos Passos, in an article written by Renato
Ramos and Alexandre Samis, two Brazilian
comrades. Passos was a black Brazilian carpenter,
unionist and anarchist, and an active leader in
the Civil Construction Workers’ Union (UOCC),
Rio de Janeiro Workers’ Federation (FORJ) and
the Workers’ Federation of Sao Paulo (FOSP).
Passos travelled extensively, and his tireless
organising and propaganda work was a crucial
contribution to the spread of trade unionism, and
anarchist ideas and counterculture in the region.
In our other regular Counterculture section,
we include here a presentation by Warren
McGregor about anarchism to the travelling
Afrikan HipHop Caravan – a radical underground
HipHop initiative linking collectives in six African
countries – held in Johannesburg in 2013.

We conclude on a positive note. Despite facing
deepening austerity, desperate poverty, grinding
exploitation, frightening elite-sponsored terror
attacks and more, the working class has not
responded by lying down in submission. Also,
importantly, the fight back has not only been
defensive, but has produced exciting constructive
initiatives that are noteworthy not only for their
effectiveness, but for their form and content.
The picture of militant, largely female, popular
militias determined to protect their communities
effectively repelling forces like Boko Haram in
Nigeria and ISIS in Kurdistan and elsewhere is
illustrative.

There are struggles everywhere that we could
note with pride – even if space has prevented
fuller explorations here. But we also know
that much work lies ahead. “The passion for
destruction is a creative passion, too!” [3]

RSS and atom feeds allow you to keep track of new comments on particular stories. You can input the URL's from these links into a rss reader and you will be informed whenever somebody posts a new comment. hide help